What are your Christmas Eve traditions?

[C.Ann]

Since moving in with DD and her family in 2004, DD's IL's come over, we have all kinds of food and goodies that you can just "pick up and eat" (no "dinners" or anything); I read my yearly revised version of "The Night Before Christmas" for everyone; we play Christmas music; DGD usually puts on some kind of wacky show for us - singing and dancing - and we play games..

Before my DH passed away (before I sold our house), we used to have a huge Christmas Eve party every year with family and friends.. Christmas Eve was always hosted in that house - since it was the house I grew up in and back then my parents used to host the party every year..

 

[Disney Doll]

We go to my DSisIL's and eat like pigs.

 

[GemmaPixie]

My family get up at the break of dawn and are in the supermarket for 6am. We do all the food shopping and just put anything we want in the trolly. It sounds so boring but its so much fun! Then we head off for breakfast of a fry up. We get home and all make homemade stuffing in a huge (clean!) toy chest for all those family and friends that ordered it from us (its very good! lol) and mix it all up with our hands (clean!). Then we watch christmas tv and movies and gorge out on snacks that we bought earlier. We used to go out for dinner but now we just order in and spend the night have a laugh with each other. Family time....wouldn't have it any other way!

 

[nutterbutter2010]

Well we usually go to my sisters house (she likes to take everything over.....) but shes not talking to my parents this year, so I doubt that will happen unless she just invites my family. So I don't know what we will be doing. I was thinking of driving around and looking at holiday decorations, but that late at night, my youngest is bound to just fall asleep in the car !

Maybe we will just make cookies with our girls, set them out for santa, and get everything ready for Christmas morning, which will be at our house

 

[Iluvthemouse]

We go out to dinner at a very nice restaurant, come home, play christmas music, open stocking gifts, then DD gets to open 1 present from us which is a new pair of pajamas..

 

[nutterbutter2010]

We go out to dinner at a very nice restaurant, come home, play christmas music, open stocking gifts, then DD gets to open 1 present from us which is a new pair of pajamas..

Wow, if would never occur to me to go out to eat on christmas eve. #1 I would want to spend the money and #2.... just never thought of it!!! LOL Its a good idea though, because that way you don't have to clean up and your ready for the real day of Christmas.

 

[mrsv98]

Christmas Eve is at our house and as many people are in town come, usually 25-30! I love it! I make a huge dinner as all the boys on DH's side are monsters, all of them 6'2" and bigger! We eat and eat and eat (I make tenderloin and turkey) open a few gifts, watch the dogs play (there will be 5 this year!) and watch It's a Wonderful Life. It is a lot of work leading up to the day but it leaves Christmas Day allto ourselves to open presents and eat left overs..yea!

 

[Danauk]

Seen as we host the family Christmas day our Christmas eve is usually spent making sure the house is spotless, preparing the veg for the next day, putting the finishing touches on the presents (the ribbons and bows) and then going to church for the midnight service.

 

[connorlevismom]

The whole family (40 people and counting) goes over to my sisters house and we have mexican food. We get so sick of ham and turkey over the holidays. We each bring a dish (my favorite is my sisters spanish rice). Then we all hang out and chat and then later we all open our gifts from each other. It is so much fun and I would never miss our mexican Christmas. Yummy!

Kristine

 

[lovesmurfs]

I make homemade cinnamon rolls for neighbors and the pastors' families. Then I make gingerbread dough. In the afternoon, the kids make gingerbread cookies (although DS, nearly 16, isn't much interested anymore, to the chagrin of his 10-year old sister).

In the evening, there's a seafood restaurant we go to every year -- we only go for Christmas Eve - it's a wonderful upscale family restaurant. Then we go to an 11 pm service.

This year, our plane returns from Orlando at 7:30 p.m., so we won't be doing that -- not such a bad problem.

 

[luvsJack]

My family get up at the break of dawn and are in the supermarket for 6am. We do all the food shopping and just put anything we want in the trolly. It sounds so boring but its so much fun! Then we head off for breakfast of a fry up. We get home and all make homemade stuffing in a huge (clean!) toy chest for all those family and friends that ordered it from us (its very good! lol) and mix it all up with our hands (clean!). Then we watch christmas tv and movies and gorge out on snacks that we bought earlier. We used to go out for dinner but now we just order in and spend the night have a laugh with each other. Family time....wouldn't have it any other way!

That must be a huge batch of stuffing!! If you don't mind me asking, how do you make it? (you don't have to give away an secrets, just the basics). Sounds very interesting. And sounds like a lot of fun!!

 

[MichelleinMaine]

I work for the church so Christmas Eve is a work night. (Thank goodness I'm only "on" for the 5pm service. The pastors and deacons get CE dinner at church since they are there til midnight!)

We all go to the service at 5 and come home for pizza (on fancy plates ). The kids get to each open once present, as someone else said, usually from each other (and they buy with the intent of "passing time til we can open more presents"). A little reading of Night Before Christmas, maybe a fun Christmas movie too (Santa Clause current fave). Then kids to bed in Christmas jammies and mom and dad go frantically wrap presents and hope Santa isn't bringing something that requires assembly, cognitive function in the wee hours when the kids get up!

 

[kydisneyfans]

Only the 3 of us here.
Church, homemade pizza, Christmas lights, and a Sonic dessert.
We usually hit Meijer about 6:45 to look for last minute markdowns in produce, meat, and bakery.

 

[lovetoscrap]

About the only tradition we have on Christmas Eve is Chinese Food for dinner-- usually we order and bring it home.

DH and his dad usually spend part of the day starting the preparations for our Christmas Day meal-- Beef Wellington. Sometimes we make cookies and decorate them.

In my family we used to open one present on Christmas Eve-- gifts from family were all under the tree and we could pick one, or if Mom had bought us new jammies we were told what we could open. I tried to continue that when I got married but DH said NO WAY! (spoil sport!). Since we are most often at his parents that is one thing that I don't get my way on.

So really Christmas Eve is mostly spent just relaxing-- maybe sneaking off to wrap a last present or two, but other than the fact that we have to have Chinese food most of our traditions are on Christmas Day.

Last year we broke tradition completely and spent Christmas Eve and Christmas with my family at my Aunt and Uncle's. They have a huge party, stay up late lots of people in and out and then on Christmas morning it was off to one person's house, then another, then another. We were all exhausted! We had a second Christmas with my inlaws--complete with our Christmas Eve Chinese food-- a few days later and we all agreed it wasn't Christmas until we got there.

I told my Aunt and Uncle that if we come for the holidays again we will come at New Years. My aunt said "Oh, but we really don't do anything for New Year's, just stay home" To which I said "EXACTLY!"

 

[suzanna1066@comcast.]

Christmas Eve is my favorite night of the year!

I spend the day preparing our feast: Swiss fondue with a fresh baguette and apples, crab dip, shrimp and other goodies. I always make rice krispie treats and sometimes do a chocolate fondue as well.

Then we eat, have cocktails and listen to Christmas music. After our little one goes to bed, we listen to 60's music (why I don't know, we just do), play Santa and get hammered!

It is a great night!

 

[cnorth]

I love christmas eve. I have, since I was a little girl, gone out with my mom on Christmas Eve. We do some light shopping at the mall, eat lunch out somewhere, and maybe go see a movie. Since I have my own children, I added a few things. At night, we make christmas cookies for santa, and then read "The Night Before Christmas."

 

[WhatATreat]

We work on Christmas Eve so I don't cook. We usually order Chinese food and eat while watching A Christmas Story. Before bed we always read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

 

[mrs_hower726]

Christmas Eve is a low-key affair at this house...DH usually gets off around 3, then we go out to dinner, usually italian. This year we are going to drive around and look at lights then come home, I get to open my b-day gifts and we end the day watching a movie.

 

[skuttle]

We bake cookies and decorate them. Then DS picks out his two or three favorites to put out for Santa.

We make reindeer food and throw it out in the yard before bed.

DS gets to open one present on Christmas Eve, which is always new PJs so he looks cute on Christmas morning.

 

[funkychunkymonkey]

We go to my grandmothers and open family gifts. Grandma also makes some sort of dinner, hopefully either cheezy caserolle or sloppy joes. Then we usally pack all the gifts in laundy baskets and head home. Later we run out to gargoskis (a old man who used to put up millions of lights, but he died. His family does the same display with less lights, and less live animals.).